The death toll from Hurricane Helene hit 160 and is still climbing as rescue efforts continue across the Southeast and the region struggles to recover. The storm’s impact is historic.
Hard-hit regions, including parts of western North Carolina, are receiving aid from various states as emergency crews work to reach isolated communities devastated by catastrophic flooding.Over 160 people are now confirmed dead in six states – Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. Helene is now the second-deadliest hurricane to strike the mainland U.S. in the last 55 years, topped only by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the most since Hurricane Camille hit the Gulf Coast in August 1969….At least 70 people are now confirmed dead in North Carolina, and hundreds of people remain unaccounted for due to the lack of power and communication access. Dozens of those deaths have come in Buncombe County, which is home to the city of Ashville.Communities in western North Carolina were hit especially hard, with catastrophic flooding destroying hundreds of roads and bridges.
Thousands are still without water in North Carolina, which appears to have it the worst in the storm’s aftermath.
Tens of thousands of North Carolina residents remained without running water on Wednesday, six days after Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida and carved a destructive path through much of the U.S. Southeast, killing more than 160 people.The powerful storm inundated the western part of the state with catastrophic flooding, destroying pipes, damaging water plants and cutting off power.One-fifth of the 1 million residents in the western half of North Carolina either had no water at all or low system pressure on Wednesday, according to an online state database. About 1.2 million homes and businesses across multiple states remained without electricity, according to website Poweroutage.us.In hard-hit Asheville, the municipal water supply system, which serves more than 150,000 residents, was badly damaged. Many residents have been warned to expect dry faucets for days or even weeks while pipes are repaired; those with water have been urged to boil it before consuming.
As I noted in an earlier report, many areas across Western North Carolina have struggled to find consistent internet and cellular connectivity. Therefore, the federal government arranged to send over 100 SpaceX Starlink kits, which are very effective in communicating during emergencies due to the nature of satellite technology.
However, if it had not been for political gamesmanship by the Federal Communication Commission, North Carolina’s rural area could have already had nearly 20,000 units operating before the storm began.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took to his social media platforms to express his ire at the situation. He is also upset that regulatory shenanigans forced the cost of Starlink to increase.
At the same time, the disaster prompted Musk to bash the FCC for denying millions to fund Starlink connectivity in US rural areas. On Tuesday, Musk took another shot at US regulators, accusing them of forcing SpaceX to inflate the costs for Starlink.“By the way, the price could be much less if the government didn’t insist on so many crazy requirements that add no value,” he alleged in a tweet.
Florida, fortunately, is a little farther along the road to recovery. Gov. Rick DeSantis gave quite an impressive update on his state’s status.
According to the governor, there are still around 20,000 people still without power after Helene’s landfall. So far, the state has restored power to more than 2.3 million accounts. DeSantis commended the state’s ability to restore so many accounts less than a week after the storm, and assured those who are still waiting that linemen were continuously working to bring back their power.
In Georgia, more than 460,000 remain without power.
Recovery will be a long process, especially in hard-hit areas like Augusta and eastern Georgia. Residents are continuing to experience challenges, such as long lines at gas stations as power restoration efforts progress.On Monday, Gov. Brian Kemp announced that the state had submitted a request to designate the situation a major disaster, a request he said was “very rare.” The entire Georgia declaration followed with a letter requesting Biden give his approval as soon as he could do so.
In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee and members of the state’s Congressional delegation toured affected areas. They estimate it will take months to completely recover from the damage.
Water and sewage systems are in disrepair, requiring airlifts of drinking water to some isolated communities and boil advisories for people living in 17 water districts — some serving parts of Tennessee that lack electricity to power stovetops. As of Tuesday at 12:30 p.m., there were 5,000 reports of power outages statewide.Preliminary engineering assessments have concluded that restoring damaged or destroyed roads and bridges will take many months and hundreds of millions of dollars.
Meanwhile, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris finally made an official visit to the storm-struck states.
Biden landed in Greer, South Carolina, where he was met by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, among others, before boarding Marine One for an aerial tour of the region.From the helicopter, Biden could see the grim devastation brought to parts of North Carolina, including Asheville and Chimney Rock. Over the Asheville metropolitan area, homes were smashed to bits, with the damage greatest near rivers, reporters in a trailing helicopter observed….Harris, meanwhile, was briefed in Augusta, Georgia, alongside Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff and Representative Rick Allen. She joined Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson to survey the city’s Meadowbrook neighborhood.
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